I am not the biggest fan of fast food in the UK anyway, but one thing nearly ruined my experience for good. By Vita Molyneux, Travel Reporter PUBLISHED: 01:45, Sat, Jun 13, 2026
One of the hardest things I have had to adjust to after moving from New Zealand to the UK two years ago is the state of fast food over here. Back in New Zealand, McDonald’s was a staple hangover meal or pre-night out meal for me, and my favourite lazy Sunday breakfast treat. Over here, I hardly touch it - the meat is rubbery, my fries are always cold, and you don’t have sundaes on the menu. Absolute travesty.
My other favourite lunch treat in New Zealand was KFC, but despite living here for two years, I have never treated myself to it on this side of the world. I had heard rumours from my other Kiwi friends who have made the move that British KFC is absolutely not worth it - mainly because Brits don’t season their chips.
I thought this couldn’t possibly be true, so I took the leap and ordered myself a KFC lunch to see what the fuss (or lack thereof) was all about.
In the interest of fairness, I ordered as close to my usual New Zealand order as possible, which was always the same - a popcorn chicken snack box, potato and gravy and a snack burger with cheese.
The first surprise was that the UK doesn’t sell potatoes and gravy together - you have to order them separately. I don’t know why anyone would ever want to eat mash without gravy, but there you have it. The snack burger is called a mini fillet burger, and there’s no option to add cheese, but beggars can’t be choosers.
Perhaps if I had visited in-store, that might have been possible, but I was using a food delivery app, so I ordered my usual and eagerly awaited its arrival.
It was with me in under 20 minutes and still piping hot. I was ravenous, so I immediately got some chips out of the bag. To my horror, the rumours were true - there was not a speck of seasoning to be found.
The chips were a little limp, but hot enough, but I could not get past the lack of salt. I don't understand why anyone would want to eat chips without anything on them - where I’m from, KFC chips are so laden with salt that you need a bottle of water on hand to finish them. It’s not just any salt either - it’s chicken-flavoured salt, so there’s a delicious savoury flavour with every bite.
However, once I added my own salt, the chips were passable. My burger was a little small and limp, but very tasty. There was just the right amount of mayonnaise, and even though the bread was sweeter than I expected, it was still delicious.
I poured my gravy into my mash as is the usual custom in my mind and used it to dip my now salted fries in - delicious, just as I remember.
The potato tasted more realistic than the ones I’ve had in New Zealand, and although the gravy was a little watery, it was perfectly tasty. The real standout was my popcorn chicken; it was absolutely perfect, light, airy, flavourful and crispy exactly as it should be.
I added the last of my chicken into my gravy and mash to create a sort of meat cereal, which sounds disgusting, but gave me great pleasure to eat.
All in all, my first British KFC was a lot better than I had expected - but the lack of salt really did let the side down. Why don't KFC salt their chips in the UK?
That said, as long as I’ve got salt in my cupboard at home, it won’t stop me getting a takeaway again.
